Indian and Slave Royalists in the Age of Revolution
Reform, Revolution, and Royalism in the Northern Andes, 1780–1825

Rethinks the temporal, spatial, and conceptual boundaries that conventionally structure historical narratives about the Age of Revolution in Latin America.

Marcela Echeverri (Author)

9781107446007, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 August 2017

292 pages, 2 b/w illus. 5 maps
23 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.45 kg

'Echeverri offers a fine work of social and political analysis, informed by close and detailed knowledge of the regions and groups studied, and framed by a strong grasp of the wider historical literature on subaltern politics under Spanish rule. Her book opens a new window onto popular politics in Spanish America during the wars of independence, and provides a 'state of the art' entry into the burgeoning recent scholarship on the Spanish legal system, the formation of identities within the Spanish monarchy, and the role of race and ethnicity in shaping the wars of independence and the republics that emerged from them.' Anthony McFarlane, The English Historical Review

Royalist Indians and slaves in the northern Andes engaged with the ideas of the Age of Revolution (1780–1825), such as citizenship and freedom. Although generally ignored in recent revolution-centered versions of the Latin American independence processes, their story is an essential part of the history of the period. In Indian and Slave Royalists in the Age of Revolution, Marcela Echeverri draws a picture of the royalist region of Popayán (modern-day Colombia) that reveals deep chronological layers and multiple social and spatial textures. She uses royalism as a lens to rethink the temporal, spatial, and conceptual boundaries that conventionally structure historical narratives about the Age of Revolution. Looking at royalism and liberal reform in the northern Andes, she suggests that profound changes took place within the royalist territories. These emerged as a result of the negotiation of the rights of local people, Indians and slaves, with the changing monarchical regime.

Introduction. Law, empire, and politics in the revolutionary age
1. Reform, revolution, and royalism in the Northern Andes - New Granada and Popayán, 1780–1825
2. Indian politics and Spanish justice in eighteenth-century Pasto
3. The laws of slavery and the politics of freedom in late-colonial Popayán
4. Negotiating loyalty - royalism and liberalism among Pasto Indian communities (1809–19)
5. Slaves in the defense of Popayán - war, royalism, and freedom (1809–19)
6. 'The yoke of the greatest of all tyrannical intruders, Bolívar' - the royalist rebels in Colombia's southwest (1820–5)
Conclusion. The law and social transformation in the early republic.

Subject Areas: Population & demography [JHBD], Slavery & abolition of slavery [HBTS], Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], History of the Americas [HBJK]